Thursday, November 5, 2015

It's hard to tell it's November in Naples as temps are still in the mid to upper 80's and water temps have come back up to the low 80s. October was a very busy month for me and we caught a bunch of really nice fish in the backwaters and on the shallow wrecks in the gulf. Bait has been very easy to find on the beaches, wrecks and areas of hard bottom. In the backwaters the redfish really got going good with the cooler water temps. We had some really good days with 13 redfish being the most in one day. Most of the redfish are in the 22-26in range but we caught quite a few in the 27-32in range. Live pilchards caught the majority of them, but gold spoons, topwaters and jigs got em too. Snook fishing has remained good on the beaches, passes, docks and bays closest to the beaches. Most of the fish are 18-22in but we lost 3 big fish in the 20lb range on 3 trips. Tarpon are still around also in all sizes. The beaches are still holding fish in the 60-170lb range. The sharks have been very thick though making it tough to get a bsit to the tarpon. With the warm weather we are still waiting for the tarpon to go crazy once we get the right cold front conditions. I expect tarpon to be around through Thanksgiving unless the cold fronts start piling up. In the backwaters we are still catching them in the 10-30lb range and are a blast on 10lb tackle. The shallow water wrecks were loaded with kingfish, bonita, sharks and big spanish mackeral. Recently they have moved off to find cooler water but will heat up again as we start to get cooler weather. Forecast is looking good and things will get better as trout, pompano, and black drum arrive as it gets closer to Winter. Don't wait to book your trip as the schedule will fill up fast with season approaching. Till next time tight lines -- Sent from myMail app for Android

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Its that time of year when the fishing really starts to heat up in Naples,Fl. The Summer is just about gone and the cooler weather is only a few weeks away. The biggest thing to report on the fishing is the increase of beautiful slot and over slot redfish in the 6-12lb range. They can be caught on a variety of live, dead, soft plastics and topwater baits. Lately my charters have been using live pilchards that I net each morning before my charters arrive at the dock. This method is great because all skill levels will catch fish, kids to seasoned anglers can all catch nice fish. Most of my charters are catching 4-10 redfish per half day depending on tides and conditions.
Snook fishing has also been very good the last few weeks using live pilchards and topwater baits. This time of year most of the snook are on the small side 1-5lbs, but we have have managed a few fish in the 20b range. The main reason snook are on the small side is summer pilchards are small and easy for little male snook to inhale. The good thing is bait is just about normal in 3-5" range and this will help keep the small fish away and appeal to bigger female snook. Late September through October is one of my favorite times of year for big snook using big 10-12" mullet and ladyfish. This Fall Ill also be doing some night time trips targeting big snook and tarpon on select tides. We will be using big live baits and a very good swimbait Spoolteklures.com
Tarpon fishing has been up and down the last few weeks for big fish and if you want info your going to have to call me for questions at 239 404 6255. Ive spent the last 12 yrs dialing in and figuring out how to consistently find and catch big 100-200lb Fall tarpon. The last few years other guides that are clueless like to follow and read reports to try and learn. Little tarpon in the 5-25lb range have been very active on my backwater charters and are a ton of fun on 10lb spinning gear. Live pilchards and topwater are my favorite, but soft plastics will work well also.
Fishing Forecast
Very soon big tarpon will be my main fish my charters want to target. If you have never tarpon fished Naples in the Fall you are missing out. Some of my biggest have come in October and on some days hooking 20 can be done. If tarpon are not your style redfish and snook will be excellent over the next few months and trout will start invading the backwaters as water temps get into the mid 70's. Till next time tight lines and see you soon

Monday, October 6, 2014

October is probably my favorite month to fish in the Naples area. The cooler weather means the arrival of redfish, trout, big snook and are last push of big tarpon coming from the north. My main focus the last two weeks has been on redfish, with a lot of snook getting caught too. The redfish have been eating live pilchards and Spanish sardines best on the 1st few hours of the incoming and the 1st few hours of the outgoing. I have had success throwing top waters on low light low water conditions also. The redfish have varied in size from 23 - 33 in range.
Snook fishing has been very good in the backwaters pretty much all Summer. The last week I've been catching them in areas I couldn't a few weeks ago due to hot water temps. Mist of the snook are in the 18-26in range but a few 10 lb fish have been caught and released.
Tarpon should make a great showing as temps cool more and we get the right tides. If you have never caught a big tarpon and want to, give me a call or email. I won't go into details on tarpon as this year too many clueless guides are finding it easier to read reports and follow you than actually learn how to catch them. Till next time tight lines

Monday, June 30, 2014

Wow the tarpon have went crazy the last two weeks in the Naples area. Ive been hitting the gulf beaches early in the morning the last week to get on the best bite and avoid the mid morning heat. The tarpon have been unusually big for the Summer with a lot of fish over 120lbs and the big fish of the whole season was three days ago at over 7ft and pushing 200lbs. My charters have been leaving the dock at 530am and we have been back around 10am most mornings to avoid the heat. Ive been having most of my bites on live bait, but the DOA Baitbuster has been dong very well also cast at rolling fish. I expect these tarpon to stick around for at least another month. Prior to the last few days the afternoon tarpon was really good too, but we have had some strong onshore mid day winds and very bad rain and lightning. This looks to improve by the end of the week so if your not big on getting up early 5-9pm is also a great time to get them. Snook fishing has been pretty good I just haven't spent much time fishing for them with tarpon being so good. Redfish, jacks, snapper and some flounder are also eating small pilchard. If you are looking for a fish of a lifetime or to get out with the family give me a call as I still have some upon mornings/afternoons this month. Tight lnes